Homepage Update: Nothing but the Best, is it Good Enough?

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Tom Ferguson

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Nothing but the Best, is it Good Enough?
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Nil Satis Nisi Optimum, a motto that seems to be losing its meaning by the day...

Four Latin words that any Evertonian could translate.

For most, it’s as far as their affiliation with Latin goes. A phrase that means nothing to many but everything to anyone associated with the royal blue.

It’s what our club demands, it’s on show all around the stadium, on the club crest, programme, shirts...

Basically, it’s everywhere as a reminder to what Everton F.C. aspires to.

But the standards it demands are falling, drifting away on a breeze across a Mersey where a bright new future is allegedly waiting to be built.

Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri came out with a statement in the past week, addressing his support for Ronald Koeman... I for one like that.



It’s what he also said that has bemused the fans.

The Iranian money man referred to the miserable home defeat against Burnley as the “only unexpected loss” of the season to date.

That’s grim reading for supporters of a club that’s meant to be full of ambition. It also appears to relegate NSNO to an obsolete term.



Implying games against Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester United, as well as mid table Italian side Atalanta, if that is what the statement is implying, were irrelevant.

Clashes that fans would’ve spent hundreds upon hundreds of pounds to attend... when the hierarchy at the club already ‘knew’ the outcome, apparently.

It goes back to the days of David ‘knife to a gunfight’ Moyes, days that Everton looked to leave behind due to the injection of Moshiri’s millions.

But words like this from the top create a loser’s mentality.

A mentality that can quickly work itself right to the heart of the players.
It may also be a strong reason why the Toffees have been deprived of silverware for what will be at the minimum 23 years.

Or even a vital component why no Everton side have won away at Chelsea since 1994, or at Arsenal in 21 years, no Anfield victory this millennium and a degrading nine and seven year wait for positive results away at Spurs or Manchester City.

Go in to a showdown thinking the worse and the job is already all but done. Defeatist attitude will be certain demise. Now thanks to Moshiri the players have an excuse. What an own goal.

Farhad is the man for the future.



And hopefully this is a blip in what has been a so far successful time in his pulling the strings at Goodison.

But it is a bizarre statement that increased dark clouds over what has already been an uninspiring start to the campaign.

And knowing first-hand the fickle-nature of Evertonians (sorry people, I’m guilty of it too, it’s true!) he will want to watch what he is saying.

Perhaps someone should sit Farhad down and remind him of what this great club stands for.

The people who now run the club may not yet have bought into it, but they need to understand as far as the fans are concerned nothing but the best is truly good enough at Everton…

Up the Toffees
 
"But the standards it demands are falling, drifting away on a breeze across a Mersey where a bright new future is allegedly waiting to be built."

Our motto has not been relevant for a number of years now.

It's hard to peddle that line out when you look at the calibre of players and managers we have had over the last 30 years.
 

Whether the motto is "relevant" or not isn't the point. The point is, it's relevant, in that it represents the heart and soul of the club. And like it or not, many supporters believe in it and have witnessed teams, directors and management live by it.
To abandon it would be anathema to me. Instead it must be used to galvanize, rally and hold those in charge accountable and to live up to those expectations. Otherwise what is the point in continuing?

Do we cast aside our history, tradition and successes because of the cancerous mindset of failure that has set in over the last thirty years? No. Better to fight and live even in blind hope for what you believe in, than cower and surrender to defeat and failure.
 
So we shouldn't expect to beat Spurs at home? Not that we have a decent history against them, but come on now Farhad, at home I expect us to win against these teams, even if they are better than us.
 
Personally, I think too much is being read into this "unexpected loss" quote. I think it was poorly worded as opposed to being an indication of our expectations.

The facts are, we have had a major summer rebuilding program, and any realistic forecast into early season results will have factored this in, rightly or wrongly, especially given the general consensus that we had the most difficult of starts. It would be foolish and arrogant to "expect" victories against these so called top teams at any stage, especially this early in a season when we are still adapting, and I think most sensible fans can appreciate that.

Part of the problem though, is people are far less patient these days, and as soon as any run of bad form hits, the instant reaction is to call for change.

I have been as critical as anyone for how poor we have been this season, and I believe the blame for this falls predominantly at Koeman's feet. But I don't think sacking him this early is the answer. I just want to see some evidence that he has a plan going forward and that the players he has signed have a place, a role in the team he is trying to build, and its not just been a case of buy the players he wants and they should work because they are expensive.

As I have made clear on numerous occasions, I thought Martinez was harshly treated and people were quick to get on his back, and the ensuing criticism and overwhelming negativity around him played a huge part in the inevitable decline we witnessed.

I thought with Koeman that people, especially those who were the most vocal about Martinez, would be far more lenient with him,and in some respects this has happened, and often unfairly so.

But the manner of the defeats, the clear lack of any tactical plan, the lack of a balanced formation, buying players without a plan of where or how they will fit in whilst not buying players for positions we were desperately short in, spending huge amounts of money and somehow making us look weaker: This has led to the backlash we are seeing now, and why Moshiri has felt the need to come out and release the statement.

Had we looked in anyway organised in losing these games, I don't think the statement would've needed to be issued. And that is the worrying thing.

As things stand, I personally don't see how anyone can say we are in any way better off than we were under Martinez, other than those who had a vendetta against him from the offset. We may have been naive defensively, but at least we had a way of playing and always looked like we could score goals.

I do hold out the hope that things will click into place and we will understand what the plan has been all along. But as was the case under Martinez, confidence plays a huge part in any teams success or failure and the longer this run of form continues, we will be seeing many more "unexpected losses" and then a decision will need to be made.
 
Good article.

I don't get why we can't just instil a more positive mentality within the club in general. A manager, for instance, can be a realist but he doesn't have to downplay expectations all the time and that goes for the board too. It filters through to the players, backroom staff, and the fans and as long as that is the case it'll get us nowhere fast.

I've heard the word 'ambition' banded about by the board, Koeman, and certain senior players over the last 12 months but it still isn't translating, as if the club is destined to be on a permanent downer for the rest of time. We really need to at least start 'talking the talk' even if we aren't quite 'walking the walk' yet!
 

Whether the motto is "relevant" or not isn't the point. The point is, it's relevant, in that it represents the heart and soul of the club. And like it or not, many supporters believe in it and have witnessed teams, directors and management live by it.
To abandon it would be anathema to me. Instead it must be used to galvanize, rally and hold those in charge accountable and to live up to those expectations. Otherwise what is the point in continuing?

Do we cast aside our history, tradition and successes because of the cancerous mindset of failure that has set in over the last thirty years? No. Better to fight and live even in blind hope for what you believe in, than cower and surrender to defeat and failure.

Brilliant post mate
 
There was a post just before the start of the season asking how many points we would get from our first 5 games. How many of us honestly expected us to get 15 points?
 

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